Every child is full to bursting with amazing things! This joyful poem celebrates the wonderful and complex identity of children of immigrants and refugees, embracing all that they are - a dancer, a shining light, a K-pop song - and promising what they will never be: invisible. Award-winning picture book author and poet Bao Phi and illustrator Hannah Li remind young readers through lyrical text and fantastical illustrations that who they are and what they love will always be enough.

Every child is full to bursting with amazing things! This joyful poem celebrates the wonderful and complex identity of children of immigrants and refugees, embracing all that they are - a dancer, a shining light, a K-pop song - and promising what they will never be: invisible. Award-winning picture book author and poet Bao Phi and illustrator Hannah Li remind young readers through lyrical text and fantastical illustrations that who they are and what they love will always be enough.

A 2018 Caldecott Honor Book that Kirkus Reviews calls "a must-read for our times," A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event - a long-ago fishing trip. Graphic novelist Thi Bui and acclaimed poet Bao Phi deliver a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son - and between cultures, old and new. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father's long work day began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in a Western city. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Thi Bui's striking, evocative art paired with Phi's expertly crafted prose has earned this powerful picture books six starred reviews and numerous awards.

Every child feels different in some way, but Thuy feels "doubly different". She is of Vietnamese origin and she has two mums. Thuy walks home one winter afternoon, angry and lonely after a bully's taunts. Then a bird catches her attention and sets Thuy on an imaginary exploration. What if she could fly away like a bird? What if she could sprint like a deer, or roar like a bear? Mimicking the footprints of each creature in the snow, she makes her way home to the arms of her mums. Together, the three of them imagine beautiful and powerful creatures who always have courage - just like Thuy.

Twins Hue and Hoa are excited for the May Day parade! While waiting at the park for the parade to begin, they spot a little duck who seems new to the neighbourhood - and looks confused by the crowd and commotion. How can the twins help the duck get to the pond? Many friends from the neighbourhood stop to say hello and offer suggestions. Teamwork, collective brainstorming and the duck’s own inspiration finally help it reach its new home - with an entire community welcoming it with a parade! A celebration of a vibrant, multicultural neighbourhood that warmly welcomes newcomers from near and far, this story also encourages communal problem-solving and offers a gentle reminder of the deportation fears many children and families face.

Bao Phi brings people to poetry who might not be interested or otherwise find it accessible. Though Phi?s poems are incredibly tender; they are colored with first-hand accounts of oppression, discrimination, and blatant, even violent, racism. These poems confront the privilege of white Americans, institutionalized racism, and the often unseen or unacknowledged violence toward minority groups, particularly Asian Americans. Phi is a child of the late 70s and 80s, and an unapologetic nerd?Star Wars movies, sci fi, comics, old-school hip hop?and those enthusiasms provide moments of lightness in the manuscript. How do you learn to be a father, you've been violently removed from your home and the context of your community? These poems are Phi's way of addressing that question. Phi has an extraordinary following in the spoken word community, and his work at the Loft has made him a hero to many, especially young poets of color. A new book should be greeted with real enthusiasm from his substantial audience.